Villages on Bhojnagar-Chakki Mor link road cut off from Parwanoo as a portion of it is washed away

Residents of several villages lying on the Bhojnagar-Chakki link road have been cut off from Parwanoo town after a 60-metre stretch was washed away at Tadol village following heavy rain two days ago.

Mounds of muck and uprooted trees flowed down the hill and more erosion is continuing as the soil has become vulnerable due to seepage of water.

Residents of Bhojnagar village, which lies 3 km from the affected site, will have to take a longer route from Kumarhatti to reach Parwanoo. Similarly, commuters from Chakki Mor will also be inconvenienced while commuting to Bhojnagar and other nearby villages lying on the affected road which has become inaccessible.

The Kaushalya river lies 100 metres downstream from the affected stretch.   

PWD Executive Engineer Gurminder Rana, who, along with a team of geologists, inspected the site, said, “A stretch of 100 metres on the Bhojnagar-Chakki Mor is highly vulnerable to erosion due to the presence of clayey soil. It erodes when there is heavy rain.”

He said requisite protection measures would be taken thorough soil investigation by geologists and other technical experts. He said the road had started eroding in the torrential rain of 2023 but the access had not been washed away and commuters managed to cross it. Though measures were taken to address the problem, a permanent protection work could not be initiated owing to the vulnerability of the area.

With cracks appearing on the walls of the government primary school, Tadol, housed in two rooms, it has become unsafe. The building is located on the road and could face more damage if cracks widen, said the officer.

The Block Elementary Education Officer, Dharampur, along with the management committee and panchayat members, inspected the school on Thursday. They decided to shift it to a community hall.

There are seven children in the primary and nine in the pre-primary sections and a single teacher in the school.